


Wicked Little Town

by RiverNugget



Category: Riverdale (TV 2017)
Genre: Betty Cooper Deserves Better, Bughead deserves better than these shitty Riverdale writers, F/M, Oneshot, alternative universe - Riverdale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-01 17:48:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,068
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23681101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RiverNugget/pseuds/RiverNugget
Summary: What happens when the core four is tied together by every strand of hair, unable to move as their claws grow bigger with time, hurting themselves and each other.Riverdale, season 4 episode 17. Alternative ending or something similar.
Relationships: Betty Cooper & Jughead Jones, Betty Cooper/Jughead Jones
Comments: 20
Kudos: 85





	Wicked Little Town

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! This is a little something I thought of while watching episode 17. I tried to find reasons as to why Barchie would happen like this, and why Betty would cheat on Jughead. I understand her if it is what I just wrote down, but if the writers just made it happen because they're barchies and not bugheads then... Nope. They're canceled.
> 
> Enjoy xx

Betty sat at her desk. Head in her hands, hot tears rolling down her cheeks as she waited for him to come back. She had been stupid. So incredibly stupid.

Archie had been stupid, too.

Her mind wandered back to the garage where she had been just a few hours ago, right after the fight with Jughead. The blonde remembered Archie looking sad. She remembered looking at him and knowing from the emotion in his eyes that he needed some cheering up. But she hadn't intended to kiss him.

She had simply started reminding him some of the moments from their childhood. Back when they were so tied together they couldn't spend an hour without each other. Back when she could just go to the playground and ask the tiny Kevin Keller if he wanted to be her friend, knowing he wouldn't reject her. Back when everything was easy.

They had started singing, and she had concentrated on the words. The song was one of her favorites. Betty loved Hedwig. She loved the way the music was so pure and clear and emotional. How it could make you feel so many things at once, and how it helped you forget everything around you.

Just screw the world and sing.

But then, looking into Archie's eyes in the garage his dad had soundproofed for him years ago... They looked so brown, so deep, and emotional. Losing herself in those deep pools of chocolate, just as she had back when they were young. And the next moment she knew, they were kissing. And not _just_ kissing. They were making out.

Thinking about it now, Betty scrunched up her nose and dropped her head against the table, not caring about the ache it gave her, nor the sound of something falling onto the ground. She simply wanted to die at that moment.

There had always been this thought lingering in the back of her head... _What if?_

What if Archie hadn't rejected her all those years ago? What if Veronica hadn't come to Riverdale? What if Jughead had stayed the same he was after his mom left? What if they had stayed friends and not developed romantic feelings for each other?

Would anything be different? Would she and Archie be together? Would she hate him if he cheated on her? Because that was what Archie Andrews did... he cheated, not even realizing how bad and disrespectful it was. And now, Betty had been pulled into that game with him.

She didn't think she and Archie would have gotten together if Riverdale was a normal town or even if Archie did have feelings for her. He couldn't have handled her, and the blonde knew he wasn't her type, nor was she his.

If Veronica hadn't come to the town... Then Betty wouldn't have a best friend. She loved the girl from the bottom of her heart. Veronica Lodge had her own flaws, but so did everyone. She couldn't have been more thankful to have her in her life. But now, she was going to be screwed. She was going to lose everyone and for what? Just because of some stupid kiss she didn't even like.

If Jughead had stayed the guy he was at the beginning of high school? That wouldn't have been great. Betty loved him, more than anything in the world. And she knew Jughead loved her, too. He would've stayed tied up in the Serpent mess and wouldn't have gotten the future he craved.

The blonde raised her head a bit when she heard the guy's voice downstairs, talking with his dad and her mom. Her eyes moved to the essay he had dropped off, still sitting in its place on the table, right next to her elbow.

When Jughead's steps moved upstairs, Betty lowered her head again, wiping the tears from her face. She was going to tell him. She _had_ _to_ tell him.

"Hey, baby," the boy said from the doorway, stopping abruptly as their eyes met. His face dropped, seeing the red puffy eyes and pouty lip on her face. "What happened?" he asked slowly, closing the distance between them in a few steps. He squatted next to her chair like he had a few hours before and placed his hands on her knees, eyes wandering to her fists. Blood.

"Whoa," he said softly, taking them into his. He frowned at the girl's guilty look and shook his head while pushing his thumbs into her fists to open them carefully as he had so many times before. "Don't feel bad for this," he said quietly and leaned up, dropping a kiss to her forehead.

When the girl's palms were facing the ceiling, both of their eyes staring at the amount of blood in shock, Jughead breathed shakily. "Come on, baby, let's clean them up."

He knew something had happened. Something she didn't want to tell him. And he wasn't going to ask just yet, deciding to wait until they were cuddled up in bed, she in his arms. Waiting until it was just the two of them in their little world, desiring to escape the shitty one around them.

"I didn't do this because of you," Betty whispered, just as Jughead's thoughts wandered to their previous fight. He gave her a small nod and was about to help her stand up when she spoke up again. "I kissed Archie."

The guy froze on the spot, glaring at the floor for a moment. When he met her eyes and Betty saw the emotion in them, her first reaction was to reach for his face and kiss his cheek. But as she lifted her hand towards his face, he stepped away.

Her hands curled up again, nails entering the deep fresh wounds and stretching them out even more. _Focus_ , she told herself, doing it harder with every second.

"You did what?" Jughead breathed, jaw trembling as he stared at her face. He had heard very well, but a part of his mind just didn't register it, never believing that the girl he loved the most would do anything like that. Not after what they had gone through together.

Betty shook her head, not about to say it again. She gulped and turned on the chair a bit, understanding she didn't have the strength to stand up at that moment. "Jughead," she said instead. "I don't know why I felt the need to do it. And I don't know why he did it either. But I swear, I didn't want to hurt you—"

"You didn't want to hurt me?" He chuckled at the absurdity of it all, shaking his head. "Why did you do it then? Just to get the taste of it back? Just because I was too tired to do my _fucking_ homework?!"

"No, no Jug, I—"

"You don't understand," he said, the cold glare on his face scaring her, tears streaming down the girl's face again. "How many times have you kissed him? While we're together?"

"I was confused, okay?" she cried. "I needed to fake date one of my best friends and—"

"Would you fucking be confused if it was Veronica!? Would you be confused if you were supposed to hold her hand the whole day and share some small innocent kisses to help your _boyfriend,_ the person I thought you loved?! Would you be confused then?"

His screaming made her tense up, and her nerves must have kicked in, because she was able to stand again, fingers still doing the full work on her palms. "It's not like that with Veronica," she said, emotionless.

"It's not like that with Veronica?" he laughed. "Well, it's not supposed to be like that with Archie either, is it? Why the fuck would you do that again? Why would you hurt me again?!"

"Jughead, I swear, I didn't mean to hurt—" she was starting to raise her voice at him just as he cut her off.

"Nobody ever does, right?" he laughed, tears in his eyes. "You don't know how I feel, Betty! Every time you look at him, I feel so fucking insecure!" He stomped his foot for some reason, squeezing his eyes shut as he dropped his head to his nape. When he opened them again, there was an icy glare in them, directed strictly at the girl he thought he loved.

"You never ask about my feelings!"

"Because when I do you never answer!" Betty roared back the same way. "It's not my fault you feel like this! If you'd actually talk to me about it and not slump around like a—"

"My whole life," he screamed, making the girl wince as she shut up. The next time he spoke, the hatred was still present in eyes and voice as it dropped some volume. "My whole life, I've been treated like a piece of shit. My mother screamed at me every time she was angry. She blamed me for everything everyone else did. I was just an emotional punching bag for my family! Then she left. And she didn't even ask if I wanted to go or not!

"My dad didn't care. I was homeless for _so long_ , Betty! Then I went to Archie's. And his dad didn't want me there. Nobody has ever wanted me! So why would you, right?!"

Betty stared at him wide-eyed, shocked at all the emotion in him. At this point, he sat down on the bed, head in his hands, sobbing.

She had known all that. But every time she had tried to talk about it, Jughead had shut her out. he never wanted to speak of things that serious. He loved his family. And all he ever had desired was for someone to love him back.

"I know you've had a crappy childhood, Jug," Betty said, trying to remain calm and not rush to him immediately, knowing he would push her away. "And I didn't intend to hurt you. I never do. It just happened."

He was still crying as he shook his head at that, letting the girl continue. "Nothing just happens, Betty!"

"Well, some things do!" she shouted back at him, heart hurting when he directed his glare at her again. "I have feelings too, you know!"

"He rejected me," Betty said, letting her tears fall again. "He rejected me for every other girl, for the fucking music teacher! I always thought he liked me!"

"I am not gonna fucking listen to you talking about your love for Archie right now," the guy grumbled, getting up and moving towards the door. "Tell your lover we're over and go cry your story to him or kiss or whatever you two like to do now!"

"Jughead!" Betty roared, her voice cutting through his ears. He had never heard her releasing a scream like that, and was shocked about how her voice dropped an octave. She was standing right in front of him, their faces almost touching, glaring at each other. "I listened to you, you're going to give me a minute and listen to me too! Now sit the fuck down!"

He stayed glued to the floor in his place, crossing his arms but not moving as she had asked for. Betty huffed, her foot suddenly striking the table on the other side of the room where she had stormed to, making all her makeup and some photos fall to the ground.

Both of them focused on the silence in the house for a moment, knowing his sister was in the room next to theirs and their parents downstairs who had been watching the tv earlier that was now apparently turned off.

"I am hurt, too," Betty started. "I know how traumatic this past year has been for you." She turned around to face him, her emerald eyes full of tears. "I know you have PTSD from all this shit that has happened to you. And you have the right to be angry. But I know _you_ know I care about you. I don't think I'd be alive anymore if there wasn't for you.

"High school isn't supposed to be filled with murders and family dramas. But it was for us. I loved Archie when we were young. I really did. But it wasn't mutual. And I've grown up. I don't want him. I don't love him anymore. Just everything has been so confusing. I'm always doubting myself because I don't know who I am!"

She was crying, hand wiping her nose for a moment as she finally released the tears she had been holding back for years. "I thought my dad was a good person, Jug. I thought he loved me! But he didn't. Yet, I still loved him. He was my dad, and every time I close my eyes I see how he drops dead in front of me.

"I'm just trying to remember all the times I felt safe and loved around him. And there are lots of those. So, I don't understand if my thoughts are wrong or if my memories are fake... I'm doubting in myself in everything I do because of that. Because I don't know how to act if I feel something weird. I don't know if it's the right thing to do, but I do it anyway because I want to forget these feelings and I just want to figure out who I am!"

His eyes were soft as she stood in front of him, screaming at the wall behind him, unnoticeably touching his shirt. "You always make me feel safe," she said quietly, directing her eyes to him. "But I just need to figure out who I am. I don't love Archie. Not even close. I love _you_. I don't know why I kissed him Jughead, but it didn't feel good. We're not the same people who we were years ago. I want to let go of my childhood because we're not the same persons anymore. And I just need to get out of this wicked little town and start my life somewhere else."

She sniffled when his arms wrapped around her waist, gently pulling her to sit on his lap, knowing she liked it. Betty leaned her head against his, resting her cheek against the beanie she had made him while Jughead took her hands into his and opened them even more gently than earlier, arm still around her.

"That's why it means so much to me that we could graduate together," she spoke quietly, voice trembling and throat aching as the top of the beanie turned damp under her cheek. "I want to go to college together. I want to start a new life together. Because I know we could make it big if we tried. We'd be happy somewhere else. Together."

Jughead nodded with her. "Just away from here and all this mess," he whispered, voice raspy and sad, but so incredibly gentle for her.

Betty leaned a bit away and cupped his face gently, looking into the greenish-blue ocean eyes of his. "I know I shouldn't have done it, Jughead. Just there will always be a part of me that is only for Archie. As much as I wish there weren't, there is. I don't want it to come between us, and I swear, I will try to make sure it never will, but... If you can't handle that or me... It's okay too. You don't have to stay together with me from pity. If you want to break up, we can do that. I understand if you don't trust me anymore."

Her jaw was trembling as she finally finished the speech, both of them crying. Jughead shook his head a bit and wrapped his arms around the girl on his lap. He kissed her forehead and Betty removed her hands from his face, wincing at the blood on his cheeks now. She didn't want to see him with blood anywhere. It brought back memories she'd rather forget.

Jughead dropped his forehead to her shoulder and pressed a kiss there. "I love you, Betts," he whispered. "I don't trust anyone more than I trust you. Just, please, know that I feel the same way. I don't know who I am either. We can figure it out together. You don't need to go to Archie for that."

The girl nodded and breathed in deeply before releasing the breath, long and slow. She needed to calm down before she was going to hit the wall. And that wasn't something either of them hadn't seen.

She got up slowly, knees shaking a bit. "I love you too, Juggie," she said and offered him a small smile before leaning down and pressing her lips to his.

Both of them relaxed into the kiss. Now, this felt real. It felt right and safe and so incredibly good. And at that moment, the two of them realized they never wanted to kiss anyone else again. Just each other.

"I'll clean the glass up if you take care of your hands," Jughead mumbled when they pulled away.

Betty gave him a small thankful smile and nodded her head. As she moved to the bathroom, her eyes wandered over the shattered vase on the ground, hoping it was only that and not the picture frames that were broken.

Jughead sighed to himself when he finally stood from the bed, stopping on the door of the bathroom to look at the blonde girl washing her hands. Her face was relaxed, eyes closed, but still tearing up as she held her palms under the freezing water.

He swallowed and shook his head, taking a step forward, reaching her a moment later. Betty's eyes opened when his arms snaked around her waist, making eye contact in the mirror. "What do you say we clean it up tomorrow and just go to bed tonight?"

She gave him a shaky smile. "As much as I'd like that, I think our parents think one of us killed the other and will come to check on us soon."

The guy sighed in disappointment, Betty smiling at the pouty look on his lips. "Let's just clean this mess up and then go downstairs to throw it away and show them we're alive," she murmured. "And then maybe grab a box of Oreos and cuddle in bed. I haven't eaten in a while."

Jughead smiled and kissed her cheek. "I'd like that."


End file.
